Special Hobby Seafire, No. 800 NAS, HMS Triumph, 1950...

[John Masters]

As promised, my next 'Spitfire A-Go-Go' instalment will be Special Hobby's Seafire in 1/72nd scale, as flown in July of 1950 during the Korean War.  I have read many threads in praise and some not so praiseworthy.  I will make up my own mind once I am done.  In any case it looks like a dangerous wee beastie to be coming across in the sky.

 

 

This is the one I'll be building.  

 

 

And the sprue shot.  I have already primed them.

 

 

I'll start in this evening or this afternoon but then I head to Athens tomorrow for some r-n-r.  

 

--John

 

[Rémi]

A beautifull plane

I build one with another scheme

Beware at the junction between fuselage and wing

Make try fitting and sand as necessary to put the fuselage in the wing

 

[CJP]

Third build of the Special Hobby kit today - Seafire 47 fans are being spoilt - keep them coming

CJP

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

The Seafire that finally addressed many of the characteristics that made the design such a (relatively) poor performer anywhere near a flight deck - though still not amazing on the endurance front.  Undeniably lovely, though (even if given the choice I’d fly a Sea Fury instead every time!)

 

Looking forward to this

[John Masters]

45 minutes ago, CJP said:

Third build of the Special Hobby kit today

Those are actually older builds that I responded too, I think, in my research phase.  One, I know, is from 2015.

 

1 hour ago, Rémi said:

Beware at the junction between fuselage and wing

So what is new?  What kit does not have this issue?  Thanks for the head's up Remi.

 

45 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

a (relatively) poor performer anywhere near a flight deck

Yes...a shame.  All that tail wrinkling.  Not designed for the hard landings on a carrier.  I have read that only 3 of the 800 produced survived the scrap heap.

 

Thanks fellows!

 

[Cookenbacher]

Looking forward to this follow up to your Spitfire Mk II, John, and I haven't watched a build of the SH kit yet and am curious about how it goes together. I know it has a few shape issues, but I'm sure it will look like a Spit(Sea)fire in the end.

[John Masters]

Thanks Cookie.  I'm looking forward to it too.  Challenges? bah!  

[malpaso]

John, did you say you’ve primed all the parts on the sprues?  Do you scrape where gluing or aim for the glue to burn through the primer?

cheers

Will

[John Masters]

I sand carefully or drill gently if it is a hole.

[John Masters]

To expand the answer to Malpaso's question...the four little studs on the back plate of the seat fit into four little holes (not seen) behind the seat.  I gently drilled out the four holes in the seat back so the studs would a) sit comfortably and b) not be gummed up by primer.  The same goes for the two little holes on the rear of the seat plate (not seen) that fit onto the two little studs of the frame behind it.  Of course, this is all CA glue, right?

 

 

Dashboard...in the above image there is a moulded dashboard if one doesn't wish to use the PE set.  I chose the latter and so I sanded off the moulded dials.   I am not showing that.  I hope everyone trusts me that I have done so.  The pre-painted PE set is very nice.  Three pieces.  A rests on B which in turn rests on C.  Very nice.

 

 

Here are the two primary cockpit pieces assembled and ready for paint.  I'll be using a hairy brush and the kit gives an option for either a black cockpit or grey-green.  I'm choosing grey-green. If this is not accurate, consider it an artistic choice because I want the detail to be visible since this will be an open canopy build.

 

 

The little round headrest is scratch, as per the instructions.  Yes, I know, it looks like the dashboard is wonky.  It is not.  It is matter of the light falling and casting a shadow.  Everything is straight.  I'll let all of this dry, go meet friends for coffee, come home and work a bit on the fuselage interior.  

 

--John

 

 

 

 

[Terry1954]

I'm in for this. I have one in the stash, beautiful aircraft!

 

Terry

[Giorgio N]

Very interesting subject, will watch this build ! I've read contrasting reports on this kit, still it's today the easiest option available for the 47 in 1/72 scale,

 

P.S. yes, the cockpit should be black, but it's true that in a 1/72 Spit cockpit in black it's hard to see anything...

 

P.S. 2: agree with what said above, I love Spit and Seafires but I'd have rather flown a Sea Fury myself if called to action

[amblypygid]

Nice start, I've been tempted by the kit but feel I should build the Airfix 1/48 kit first.

[Kenny Stevens]

this is what my mate miggers reckons is the best way to get a seafire 47

 

 

[John Masters]

Wow Kenny.  That's an impressive looking model and a lot of work I am not prepared to do.  This is a hobby for me, not a life's calling.  I'll stick with this kit and not worry about what others do.  Thanks!

[fatalbert]

2 hours ago, Kenny Stevens said:

this is what my mate miggers reckons is the best way to get a seafire 47

 

 

I would love to see your Seafire next to the Special Hobby one,just to see the difference.

[John Masters]

I took care of some painting last night before I hit the sack so this morning all was well and I could do a few things before I hopped the boat to the mainland.

 

Cockpit...Black-green with some black bits and some red bits...No real issues with fit that weren't expected.  The dashboard was a bit tight and required some filing down so when I joined the fuselage halves, there was no gap.  No big deal.  Note that I have painted the inside of the camera windows black.  If you don't do this then whatever light shines through when all is closed up looks really odd.

 

 

Orange, green and red.  These will go into the wing part of the lower fuselage on Saturday when I return, along with another observation port.

 

 

Wings assembled and drying.  No fit issues there.  Some nice detail added into the undercarriage bays.  I'll give that all a bit of touching up eventually.  

Fuselage closed up and drying--see above.

 

 

Thanks!

--John

 

 

[Col.]

Nice subject choice John   Although I'm another who would rather have found myself strapping on a Sea Fury if the need arose based on some of the stories my father and some of his mates told.

[John Masters]

Thanks Col.  Someday I'll build a Fury.  If you get around to building a Sea Fury, don't forget the stories!

[corsaircorp]

On 10/23/2018 at 2:54 PM, John D.C. Masters said:

Those are actually older builds that I responded too, I think, in my research phase.  One, I know, is from 2015.

 

So what is new?  What kit does not have this issue?  Thanks for the head's up Remi.

 

Yes...a shame.  All that tail wrinkling.  Not designed for the hard landings on a carrier.  I have read that only 3 of the 800 produced survived the scrap heap.

 

Thanks fellows!

 

Hello John !

Great choice ! I finished mine not so long ago !

Same markings, flown by Peeters !

In fact, all the Seafire has been grounded on the spot as soon as HMS Triumph exited the war zone.

They were all wrinkled beyond tolerances....

Really great pilots and mech's !!

Sincerely.

CC

[John Masters]

Now...where was I?  Back from my off-island r-and-r, I looked at the wings/fuselage issues.  Nothing too unfamiliar in the modelling world.  Since the wing halves are together, the cannon/gun ports are perfectly aligned.  This, for me, is an easier and cleaner way of addressing the potential for a poor fit at the roots.  

 

The starboard side fits perfectly, with only a slight gap to fill, more of a seam really.  The washout gap you see will be taken care of with clamps.

 

 

The port side shows that some filing down will be required to make this fit cleanly.  Not too much, maybe .5mm.  Note, too the slight gap on the turtleneck.  Easily filled.

 

 

 

So far, none of these situations are anything one doesn't encounter a regular basis with almost any model.  I'll get the camera port and the coloured lights in the wing first.  I'll take the .5mm or so off of the fuselage section, not the wing.  It is easier to file and sand that section.

 

--John

 

 

 

[Courageous]

Port wing root problem, noted.

 

Stuart

[John Masters]

Yes Stuart...and there will be plenty of minor adjustments to get the wing to fit well.  Some sanding here, some filing there, putty, etc...what I noticed is that the thickness of the plastic on the port-vs-starboard fuselage wing root areas was slightly different, so it was more than just the .5mm in length.  I'll post a picture today.  I wasn't surprised by any of this, certainly I have encountered it before.  

[John Masters]

To continue...

 

Happy Oxi Day, everyone!  

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohi_Day

 

The wings, fore and aft, are all on.  I had a tough time with the rudder.  It needed a little nudging back and forth until it settled into something I could live with.  There is a slight difference from one side to the other, but once all is said and done, I won't notice it.  The angle of the photo makes it seem more than it is.  The wing roots on all the wings needed some putty and a bit of TLC.

 

 

 

 

These are nice.  The air intakes that go underneath the wing.  They have a nice bit of PE that gives them a bit more scale.  I used it, but it is optional.  And they fit without any gaps, btw...

 

 

And now for some comedy.  I understand this, I really do.  It allows SH to use the same fuselage for two different kits, yet allowing for the option of those massive cylinder heads on the Griffon motor.  I think it would have taken as much work to include a whole new fuselage, but that's just me.  As it is, I will have to glue these on the nose above the exhaust stacks and then putty around them to make them nice and smooth.  There is a small engraved guide line to show me where, but that's it.  They fit ok, but not perfectly.  Next time, Special Hobby...just mould a different fuselage, would you?  

 

 

And I'm off take care of this now...

 

--John

 

 

 

 

[John Masters]

These are on...with gaps to be filled...

 

 

And these are on, no gaps here!

 

 

I'm pretty close to re-priming.  A couple of odds and ends, tape up the cockpit, etc...

 

--John